The Squeee

Well, at least if you would be so kind to vote for me, that is! ;) TalkTalk Tales is the contest, and it's about reading an excerpt from a well-known and loved children's book, or as they put it: "Our nationwide hunt for Britain's best amateur storyteller." I started by reading all the excerpts aloud to myself, and then chose the one I found most fun to read. It so happened to be Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll. (I wasn't confident enough in my pirate singing.) Anyway, you can go and have a listen to my entry, and if you like it, please vote generously. :)

Can't believe it's taken us this bloody long to go and see the nearest hall/mansion/castle/thingy! Have lived in Nottingham for 6½ years now, pretty much, and the Saturday just gone saw our first ever visit to Wollaton Hall. Which is pretty inexcusable, considering the move we did about a year ago brought us closer to it than we were before, and yet ... nothing. Not until Relatives came to our side of town for a stroll in the park with Baby Nephew. Here's our chance! Let's go! Nottingham's Downton Abbey We did just go for a stroll around the park, and the wind was rather on the cold side and it wasn't a terribly pleasant day for a walk, but at least it didn't rain. It also gave us the impetus to go back when the weather's warmer. Wollaton Hall was built in the 1580s for Sir Francis Willoughby and should not be confused with Mentmore Towers in Buckinghamshire, which is a replica of this one, apparently. The replica has been used as a filming loc

One of the blogs I follow, because it's a brilliant place to get updates on anything to do with the Brontës or their works, is the BrontëBlog . They don't just post about upcoming movie or TV adaptations, they also tell you about things like books about the Brontës, new editions of their books and - crucially when you've set yourself the nigh impossible task of reading everything to do with Jane Eyre - upcoming novels by modern authors who have done their takes on the classical story. Today, I spotted a few upcoming novels and on closer inspection, they are all to do with Jane Eyre , yay! Here's a chronological rundown:

If you thought Charlotte Brontë only wrote Jane Eyre , you are mistaken. Her second published book was Shirley , and good ol' BBC have made an adaptation in six parts of it. For radio, not TV. Oh well, you can't have everything. If I understand the website correctly, it was first broadcast in September 2007, so it's not actually new new. Part one was broadcast this morning at 10 am (thanks for the tip, BrontëBlog !) and part two is tomorrow at 10 am, and the rest follow at the same time in the rest of the working week, with the final two parts next Monday and Tuesday. Linkage: Charlotte Brontë's Shirley on BBC Radio 7 - part 1 is available on BBC iPlayer for 7 days.

There is a lot about having to look slim for the camera and all that, but actually, my preferred man is one that has a bit of meat on him. Not too skinny, not too muscly, not too morbidly obese, but you know, a happy medium. Richard Armitage isn't too muscly, for instance. However, with there being a lot of skinny blokes out there, I feel we should also recognise that there are a number of heavier blokes out there who also deserve some appreciation for their looks (they're already getting kudos for their talents), but a lot of the time might get over-looked because of their size. So here are a few that have it goin' on, and who definitely aren't stick insects! :) In no particular order, aside from alphabetical:

Excuse me while I go squeee for a bit. These are in chronological order from when they appear in the book. 1. "When will I meet Miss Fairfax?"

Recently, at the British Comedy Awards, there was this kids TV show that won an award for Best Sketch Show! So I decided to check it out. And HOLY MOLY it's AWESOME! Horrible Histories on CBBC! Why is it awesome? Because it's about history and that's always a good thing, and that's just for starters. It's also fun, and very informative while being very playful. It's a history lesson made irresistible. Sure, I already like history as a subject, but this never fails to engage you. And there are songs and everything! And (admittedly) the stars are cute too, and they do sometimes wear cravats! ;) But mainly because it's a hoot to watch. So sit down, and let the history lesson commence! They really need to bring out an album with all of their songs! :D More: Wikipedia , IMDb , Amazon UK , official Horrible Histories website on CBBC

Thanks to MG at FLY HIGH! for the link! :) Here's a first look at the trailer for the upcoming Captain America movie. Richard Armitage is in it, but blink and you miss him (ca 00:23). Are you looking forward to this as well? Are you a comic book to film fan or just a fan of Richard Armitage or one of the other actors?

For the upcoming Richard Armitage FanstRAvaganza , my topic is going to be to delve more into the man behind the actor, to try and figure out why we're so drawn to him. Aside from talents and good looks, how come many of us can't read an interview with him without going completely potty and fancy him even more? What's up with that? Why are we so infatuated with this ordinary Leicestershire lad? I was wondering if anyone has any suggestions when it comes to interviews he's done where he talks about himself. I don't mean really personal stuff (like that one where he's lured into talking about how he lost his virginity and stuff like that) but you know, where he talks about having a BMW but would prefer an old, bashed up car; where he talks about food, sports, hobbies, DIY and all that sort of thing. Are there any articles that you've read that have stood out in particular for you that you can give as suggestions for me to have a closer look at? :) P.S. We

Imbolc (2 February) is a Neopagan holiday that celebrates the coming of spring. While we might not be able to see it yet, nature is slowly starting to come back to life after the long hiatus of winter. This very much depends on where in the world you are, of course. In Sweden, the ground will probably still be fairly frozen, at least if you're in the northern half. South - meh, your mileage may vary. In Britain, we've got little green things starting to poke out of the soil already. Worth bearing in mind that Gerald Gardner, the founder of modern Paganism - or rather the founder of Wicca specifically, was British. If you're a Pagan in the southern hemisphere, I suppose you've got Lammas or Lughnasadh instead now, while we have to wait until August. Speaking of southern hemisphere - Australians, my thoughts are with you. First, the floods, now a ginormous cyclone headed straight for Queensland. Look after yourselves and stay safe! Like I said when posting about Y

What do you get if you mix JRR Tolkien with Arthurian legend, throw it in a blender and add some general insanity? You get this thing, which is something I wrote a few years ago just for the hell of it. It's very silly, but I've been feeling quite down and tired and generally fairly BLEARGHH sod the hell off this week, so I believe a dose of silliness might be good. Also, there's so much talk of The Hobbit in various places that I just felt like jumping on the bandwagon - without actually jumping on it at all. So take your Hat of Seriousness off and jump into Non-descript Fantasy World for a bit! "The Fellowship of the Grail" ^^ HOLEE GRAYLE ^^ "Have I told you about the time when my uncle went to the City to see--" "Where babies come from. Yes, you have." "Oh. What about the story of the Witch Who Would Not?" "Yes." "So …" Grandfather Byl looked down his pipe with a frown. "Where has Samawel got t

Coming in March is the second annual FanstRAvaganza! It's a celebration of all things Richard Armitage around a number of participant blogs. Some blogs are normally exclusively about Richard Armitage, others - like this one - has him as a recurring topic, simply because we can't help but swoon over the guy. (Seriously, can you blame us?) Over the course of a week, specifically 14-21 March, every blogger will run her own particular RA-related theme. My theme last year was the leading ladies of the RA productions. This year, I've chosen a theme myself and what that will be ... well, Read And Find Out! :P This year is going to be bigger than ever! Okay, well, bigger than last year, which is when it all began. So far, these wonderful bloggers and their equally wonderful blogs will be taking part: Avalon - Avalon's Blog CDoart - CDoart Judiang - Confessions of a Watcher Mesmered - Mesmered's Blog Mulubinba - An RA viewer's perspective from 33°0'S of

The beginning of this post can be found here: Celebrity and the Big C - Part 1 . Sorry for dwelling on this topic even longer, but I just remembered something as I wrote "It hurts to lose a loved one, regardless of if they're famous or Joe Schmoe down the street." THIS WAS (and still is) MY F***ING PROBLEM WITH JADE GOODY . To people outside of Britain, she was a woman who basically got famous for being famously unedumacated on Big Brother and making an arse of herself on Celebrity Big Brother a few years later by making bullying racist comments about a fellow housemate and thereby causing a huge scandal. Foot-in-mouth disease. You has had it. When she got diagnosed with cancer, it was made into a reality TV show and gathered a media circus around the whole thing. While I'm genuinely sad for the sake of her young children that they did actually have the misfortune of losing their mother to cancer, the whole show around her passing I found deeply offensi

I'm going to be really quite serious for once, but so many things are going on in the world of the stars that I can no longer just sit here in my own little world and pretend things are fine, because sometimes, things are not fine. And it makes me sad. Behind the headlines, the stars are real people, with families who care for them. Zsa Zsa Gabor is fighting gangrene and might lose a leg, but she's age 93 now, so let's face it, while that's obviously sad for her and a terrible worry for her family, I'm not too bothered by it personally. I hope she gets better, obviously, but I can't sit here and pretend that it pulls my heartstrings too much. She's almost a century old - NONE of my grandparents lived to her age. Maybe it's also because I can't relate to her either that makes it less of a biggie. Coming down in ages, and while not young, Dame Maggie Smith (76) battled breast cancer in 2007 and was declared cancer-free in 2009. You wouldn't th

I was writing a review when I came across an article on BBC News , saying actress Susannah York has died at 72, having struggled with cancer for a while. She has been in a number of things over the years, but the thing I knew her from was as the red-haired, too-beautiful Jane in the 1970 adaptation of Jane Eyre , opposite George C Scott. Probably one of the adaptations I enjoyed the least, to be fair, but still, one of the Janes has passed away. My thoughts are with her family and friends. May the Mother's last embrace welcome you home. What are your recollections of Susannah York?

There's this trailer running on TV at the moment, about a new movie that's out, called Season of the Witch . A 14th century Crusader returns to a homeland devastated by the Black Plague. A beleaguered church, deeming sorcery the culprit of the plague, commands the two knights to transport an accused witch to a remote abbey, where monks will perform a ritual in hopes of ending the pestilence. A priest, a grieving knight, a disgraced itinerant and a headstrong youth who can only dream of becoming a knight join a mission troubled by mythically hostile wilderness and fierce contention over the fate of the girl. When the embattled party arrives at the abbey, a horrific discovery jeopardises the knight's pledge to ensure the girl fair treatment, and pits them against an inexplicably powerful and destructive force. Momentum Pictures, you had me at "accused witch" and "14th century". :) But that's not what ran through my head when I saw the trai

Saw a bit of it. Seemed awright. Perhaps a bit better than it used to be, even? Which is just as well, heh. Haven't followed this show with any sort of zeal, or, indeed, at all, really. Seen the odd episode here and there, and most of series one, I think. For this new one (series four is it?), I was struck by: Complete and total inability to watch Ben Miller without expecting him to say something along the lines of "actually, this isn't funny. This actually happened to a mate of mine" or "isn't it? Isn't it, though?" or basically any other Armstrong & Miller catchphrase you can think of. "Hey, isn't that the guy from Strike Back ?" Just checked, and yes, yes it is! (Alexander Siddig, rowr!) The complete and total droolworthiness of Connor (Andrew Lee Potts) and Abby (Hannah Spearritt). That's one hawt couple. They weren't exactly ugly before, but now ... wowza. Woah, HELL YES! And the guy on the right ain't ba

One is rejoicing, for Syfy's Alice is finally coming to the UK! From what I've gathered, it's to Alice in Wonderland what Tin Man is to the Wizard of Oz . And that's enough to get me very excited. Not to mention it stars The Seriously Cute Guy off Primeval (new series started over the weekend just gone, even though I thought they cancelled it), the magnificent Kathy Bates and the insanely brilliant Tim Curry. Oh, note to self: Andrew Lee Potts is the name of the cutie. Actually, better make that hottie, I just saw the piccy on his IMDb profile. Goodness me! Phwoar! The journey in two parts begins on Syfy (Sky 129 / Virgin 135 / TalkTalk 22 - but does anyone even have TalkTalk?) Thursday, 27 January 2011, at 8:00pm / 20:00. Syfy UK: Alice

Last night, I dreamed of Spooks . And Lucas North John Bateman wasn't even in it! (Bloody traitor.) It was something to do with a human-looking robot and a secret room in a house. It was hidden behind a bunk bed and the lock was really dodgy. And for being a super-secret bunker, why on earth did it have perfectly normal windows? Anyway, I believe Dmitri took Harry there, because it was top priority to keep Harry safe. Did that make me Dmitri or was I another spook? Anyway. I think I woke up somewhere there, after having given up on that blasted little key that wouldn't quite lock the secret door properly. Chin up, Harry. I saved you! If anyone wanted to vote in the National Television Awards, the shortlist voting opened today, and will remain open until 26 January. You can vote here: http://www.nationaltvawards.com/vote but there's nothing about Spooks or Richard Armitage or anything else Richard, boo. However, if you want to vote for Doctor Who or Sherlock , or t

This is positively the best song I've heard so far this year! Okay, admittedly, the year has only just begun, but what a way to begin! Allison, you are my hero. In fact, you should be the hero of Richard Armitage fangirls everywhere. Absolutely brilliant song, it made me both smile and giggle. Thank you! And many thanks to Skully for posting about it and thus making me aware of it! 2011 has begun!